ShutUpJohn!

I’ll bitch and moan about John Aielli but I love KUT.  I’ve been a member here and there over the last 30 years, first joining when I was in high school with money from bailing hay over the summer.  I think I joined during Phil Music after the city council meeting back when Phil Music really was fill music.  I remember anxiously awaiting the end of the city council meetings telling the politicians to shut up so I could hear Phil Music.

I donated tonight to my all time favorite radio show, Left of the Dial and the best DJ on the radio, Jeff McCord.

But I did mention that John Aielli needs to go.  You should too.

More on complaints to KUT soon.

Just another example of why John is so annoying to most of us:  “I was up at the crack of dawn… I don’t know why they call it the crack of dawn, it sort of slides in.  So I was up at the crack of dawn… it looks like a crack through a window… and the birds were going nuts!”

Jesus, the guy just loves to hear himself speak.

“You should read books.”

That’s John’s outstanding intellectual commentary for today.  I actually made it to 11:23am today until that comment insulted my intelligence yet again.  Good job, John!

I made it to 11:15am today and finally had to turn Eklektikos off.  I suppose with the extended Johniday I had built up a tolerance for John’s moronic commentary and enjoyed the show during his first week back.  But he’s been slowly grating on my nerves all week and finally today he just insulted my intelligence one too many times.

It’s been a week.  I’m sick of hearing about your damned vacation, John.

Sadly, the extended Johniday for this year is over.  I hope John had a relaxing vacation, performed some satisfying gigs, and comes back refreshed and with a whole bunch of new music to share with us.  I also hope he’ll resist the urge to make his show about himself and instead weaves a clever, fun, twisty, themed show like he used to do decades ago.

There sure was a lot of good music the last 6 weeks.

Step by step instructions on how to host your own radio show.

1. While Morning Edition is wrapping up, look up today’s This Day in History and see if anything strikes you as interesting to use as the theme for the day.
2. Use the computer to search the KUT music library to find any music that mentions your little factoid in the title of the song, or the name of the artist, or the producer, or the label. Just do a search on “all fields.”
3. Announce today’s theme and play any songs that have the theme in their title, no matter how stupid, ancient or ear-splitting the music may be.
4. Plug your blog.
5. Announce the weather and insert your opinion on the forecast. Oh, if you don’t feel like it don’t bother reading the entire forecast.
6. Announce Today’s Birthdays
7. While the NPR news update is running, use the computer to search the KUT library for any songs that are performed or written by anyone with the same first name as one of the people who has a birthday today.
8. Plug your blog.
9. Play all the songs by people with the same first name as someone with a birthday today. Don’t be constrained by any relationship between the music and certainly don’t worry if the music is horrible because you don’t have to listen to it! Just unplug your headphones and continue searching the KUT music library. Let your mind wander. Queue up any songs where you can make any kind of simple-minded relationship.
10. Describe that you have a post on your blog that mentions someone that also has the same first name as some famous person with a birthday today!
11. Play the NPR news update
12. (optional) Interview a musician/band and make sure the musician and everyone listening understand just how much you know about music. Let the band play and be sure to explain how much you liked that one part where they go “bum bubba bum bum bum ratta tat tat bum” just like in this other song you love.
13. Darn, still another hour or so to go
14. Plug your blog
15. Put the KUT music computer on “random” and pretend you had a little random theme going there… Don’t worry, all listeners with half a brain have already changed the station, just make something up!
16. Complain about the weather
17. Play the NPR news update
18. Done!

See? You can be a radio institution as well!

Update this list in comments and see how well you remember John’s shtick.

Woohoo! John Aielli started his six week vacation today! Six weeks without John Aielli! My radio can finally remain tuned to KUT all day…

Hmm - post in comments below if you want to be included in a Johniday notification service I may try to put together. Wouldn’t it be kind of cool to get an e-mail or even an SMS text message on your phone whenever John Aielli is not working?

I’ve been so sick of Aielli that I haven’t been listening to KUT this week, but imagine my delight when I turned it on today and no John Aielli! The first clue was the cool music and then the soothing voice of Michael Crocket, I believe. Click on the KUT playlist link to the right and see how nice the music selection is.

Is it really necessary to insert your commentary over the music? It’s the ultimate indicator of an ego that has become much too large. Not only is it rude but it indicates that you believe that you are more important than the music. It indicates that you believe that your commentary is so very insightful that it must be heard immediately and that the main reason people listen to your radio show is to hear what you have to say, rather than the music.

It’s also particularly infuriating when your comments over the music are inane.

I think it would be much better for John’s ego to move to a talk radio station and just quit with the facade that his show is about the music.

This valentine’s day, KUT sure is trumpeting how awesome John’s musical selections are. As a loyal listener, at least until I can’t stand Aielli any longer and revert back to internet radio, I can appreciate John’s 20 years of DJ experience. But based on the music he selects for his show, including the really odd-ball ancient folk music like “On Top of Old Smokey”, I’m not all that comfortable with buying a special Valentine’s Day membership to KUT when I’ll also get a CD with musical selections picked out by John Aielli. It wouldn’t be so bad if KUT didn’t make such a big deal out of it.

Ya know, I’d rather have selections by Larry Munroe.